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#2029772 - 02/09/1309:25 AMRe: Do I have to cover the keys with the felt cloth?
[Re: electone2007]

pianoloverus
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Registered: 05/29/01
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Loc: New York City

The felt cloth is for those who do not cover their keyboard after playing. Unless there is a lot of dust some dealers recommend not covering the keys or closing the fallboard at all. I'm not sure of the pluses and minuses of keeping the fallboard open. I never close the fallbaord or cover the keyboard with felt.

The felt is actually intended to remove the moisture from the keys that your fingers leave on the keys and to help with having less dust accumulate under the keys. I always close it up when I'm done playing.

What's so difficult about putting it back? I own a Schimmel and I place mine on every single time and close the key cover too. It keeps my keys nice and white and shiny.

#2029811 - 02/09/1310:44 AMRe: Do I have to cover the keys with the felt cloth?
[Re: Jerry Groot RPT]

pianoloverus
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Registered: 05/29/01
Posts: 19946
Loc: New York City

Originally Posted By: Jerry Groot RPT

The felt is actually intended to remove the moisture from the keys that your fingers leave on the keys and to help with having less dust accumulate under the keys. I always close it up when I'm done playing.

I would think that any moisture(I never really noticed any but I play in an airconditoned room during the summer) would evaporate very quickly?

The felt is actually intended to remove the moisture from the keys that your fingers leave on the keys and to help with having less dust accumulate under the keys. I always close it up when I'm done playing. ...

Does the fiber of the felt make a difference--like whether it is wool felt or polyester?

Would any cloth accomplish the same thing?

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I have also heard that one should not cover the ivory keys to prevent yellowing. They are not exposed to direct sunlight, but just natural indirect light. I do close the fallboard when I leave for an extended period of time.

Can anyone verify if this is in fact correct about keeping the keys exposed?

I think that has more to do with lack of cleaning them than anything else Morodiene.

Finger dirt and grime gets on the keys especially from kids and, many not so clean adult fingers too and if not cleaned, the air cannot get at them and then they become yellowed and discolored. At least that's what I was told. Keeping the keys clean is more important than if the cover is left up or down.

Although my own piano is a digital, I still wouldn't let anyone loose on it unless they'd washed their hands first. When I was a child having piano lessons at my teacher's (my second teacher; the first one came to our home), she always inspected my hands before letting me near her piano....

I had plenty of experience of sticky keys playing on the little vertical that was my piano in my childhood, but that wasn't due to dirty fingers or dust accumulating between the keys (my parents saw to that, and I always had to replace the felt and close the fallboard after finishing practice). It was the poor build quality of the piano.

_________________________
"I don't play accurately - anyone can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life."

#2030495 - 02/10/1301:14 PMRe: Do I have to cover the keys with the felt cloth?
[Re: electone2007]

pianoloverus
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Registered: 05/29/01
Posts: 19946
Loc: New York City

I'm sure some would disagree with the first sentence but Faust Harrison Pianos has this recommendation on their website. Of course, I assume this doesn't apply if one has a particularly dusty environment.

"The fallboard should always be open to allow free circulation of air around the keys. Keys should be cleaned only with a soft cloth, dampened very slightly with water or club soda (or Windex if the keys are really dirty). Never put fluid directly on the keys."

My first new piano, a Yamaha UX in 1979 was covered and lid down every time for the first 5 years - till the children started learning. We worked out that they would be far more likely to play if the keys were visible. The cover (with Yamaha advertising) was stored, and the lid was only put down on the day the piano was dusted - and re-opened. The piano was extensively used by 4 of us for 27 years when I upgraded to my first grand.

I laboriously covered and close that grand and my new grand daily. And the grandchildren are supervised (hands washed etc) when they play!!!!

But my old UX went to my daughter's place with 3 grandchildren. My daughter never saw the lid down or the cover, so it's still open. Unfortunately it's closer to her kitchen, so when I visit, I wipe the sticky etc off the keys.

The thing is, a piano keyboard is incredibly beautiful and inviting. I can't bring myself to cover it up and then miss seeing it whenever I'm in the room or walking by. My tuner/tech has always cleaned absolutely everything during a tuning visit. I might start dusting the keys myself more often, say, once a week, but close the fallboard? Can't do.